Steam condenser



p 969 G. LANZONI I 3,469,374

STEAM CONDENSER Filed April 20, 1967 INVENTOR.

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United States Patent 3,469,374 STEAM CONDENSER Gianluigi Lanzoni, Via Civitali 13, Milan, Italy Filed Apr. 20, 1967, Ser. No. 632,309 1 Claims priority, a plilcatign Italy, Apr. 23, 1966,

7,1 Int. Cl. B014] 53/24 US. Cl. 55-199 7 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A steam condenser of expansion chamber type for heating systems comprises a lower chamber with deflector means imparting a rising and descending eddy motion to the hot liquid entering said chamber and an upper chamber communicating through a pipe with the lower chamber and partly filled with the liquid. During the eddy motion of the liquid in the lower chamber steam bubbles collect, move upwardly and pass through the central pipe into the upper chamber which communicates with the atmosphere allowing expansion and condensation of the steam. An insulated partition wall between the upper and lower chambers maintains the upper chamber at a lower temperature.

The present invention relates to a steam condenser of expansion chamber type, particularly useful in equipment with open tank circulation of hot liquids, for heating purposes or industrial uses.

In plants using the circulation of hot liquids, and where these hot liquids are utilized by many users through the abrupt regulation of the quantity of hot liquid feeding one or more of these users, a certain quantity of steam forms in the piping of these plants, the quantity depending upon the parameters of power and fluid mass involved.

This steam formation is undesirable and this inconvenience is avoided not only by making use of selfadjusting systems of the water heating apparatus (burner control systems, which extinguish the flame of the same upon reception of a signal of excessive heating of the water, for example) but also by providing chambers within which the steam can expand and condense.

An object of the present invention is to provide a condenser allowing steam expension and wherein the steam in maintained at the atmospheric pressure.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a condenser which allows also a constant quantity of liquid circulating in the plant to be maintained by automatically replacing the quantity lost through leakage, and similar causes.

A further object is to provide a condenser which may be used, together with a number of identical condensers, in a general heating plant or the like for example for centralized heating of several buildings, each equipped with such a condenser.

A further object is to provide a condenser which is of simple and rational construction, and easily assembled.

These and other objects are attained by a steam condenser according to the present invention, which includes at least one container, at least one hot liquid inlet pipe and at least one liquid outlet pipe in communication with said container and at least one connection for putting at least a part of the container in communication with the atmosphere and comprises the combination of a container divided into two chambers a first chamber provided with inner deflector walls and passages through said walls between the spaces defined by said walls, which passages are so arranged with respect to each other that the first 3,469,374 Patented Sept. 30, 1969 spaces, and a second chamber in hydraulic connection with said first chamber including at least one pipe opening into said second chamber near the top of same, and at least one valve controlling a liquid supply pipe opening into said second chamber from th outside.

Further advantages and characteristics of the invention will appear from the following description of a preferred embodiment of the invention, illustrated for indicative purposes, in the accompanying drawing in which:

FIGURE 1 is an axial vertical section view of a condenser according to the embodiment of the invention,

FIG. 2 is a section taken on line IIII of FIGURE 1, and

FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic partially sectional perspective view of some component parts of the bottom portion of the device, the section being taken on line III-III of FIG. 1.

With reference to the drawing, the condenser comprises a first container 1, complete with pipe 2, supplying the liquid coming from a collector pipe system 3, connected in turn to a number of user apparatus, diagrammatically indicated at 4.

Container 1 is, moreover, provided at the bottom thereof with an outlet pipe 5 connected to the liquid heating apparatus, for instance, to a boiler (not shown).

Container portion 1 comprises, inside, a vertical cylindrical deflector wall 6 which, at its lower end is secured to the bottom of container portion 1 and at the top is only partly covered (see FIG. 2) by a lid 7. A second inner cylindrical deflector wall 8, of smaller diameter, is spaced from th bottom of the container 1 and depends from a top lid 9 on the container portion 1.

Between the partial lid or partition 7 and the complete lid 9, a small gap or space 11 is formed which through a hole 12, bored in wall 8, communicates directly with space 13 internally defined by the cylindrical wall 8. The spaces are thus four in number, the first 14, between the walls of container portion 1 and the wall 6, the second 15, between the two walls 6 and 8, as well as the spaces 11 and 13 mentioned above.

A container portion 10 is provided above the container portion 1 which presents a bottom or partition 16, opposite the lid 9. Heat insulating material 17 is placed be tween the lid 9 and bottom 16 to insulate the upper container 10 from the lower container portion 1.

At the center space 13 communicates with a threaded pipe 18. A flange 19 internally threaded and welded to the lid 9, is placed between the lid 9 and bottom 16. The pipe 18 is screwed into said flange 19 and secured by means of a flange 19a and a gasket 19b to the bottom 16. The ipe 18 inside container portions 10 extends almost up to a lid 20 which closes the top of the container. The top lid 20 may simply rest on the container portion 16, or be welded to same, if desired.

A cup like element turned upside down 21 having an upper hole 22 near the end of pipe 18, is mounted on the upper end of pipe 18, by means of a pin 18a in such a way as to ensure that the end of said pipe 18 be always open. A pipe connection 23 communicates with the inside of the container portion 10 and the atmosphere and is arranged at the top of said container portion 10. At a lower position a pipe connection 24 is fixed in the container portion 10 to allow connection thereof to a liquid feed pipe.

A valve 25 intercepts the inner outlet of pipe 24, and this valve is connected to a rod 26 which is hinged at 27 to a rigid body member with pipe 24 at one end and a float 28 at the other end.

At the space 13 the lid 9 and the bottom 16 are traversed by the pipe 29 inserted in pipe 18 and having an elbow 29a. At one end thereof the pipe 29 opens into the container portion 10, while at the other end it projects downwards to near the bottom of container portion 1.

As may be easily deduced from FIG. 2, the cylindrical wall 6 is arranged so that the interspace between it and the outside wall of container portion 1 gradually decreases in clockwise direction beginning from pipe 2.

The condenser operates as follows:

The liquid is preferably water, coming from the user apparatus 4. The water enters the first container 1 and follows a path in the spaces 14, 15 and 13 according to a rising and descending rotary motion, as illustrated by the arrows in the drawing. The steam bubbles which form are initially drawn upwards, move to the space 13 through the space 15 and the hole 12 and enter the pipe 18.

Due to the rotary up and down motion, a number of the bubbles of steam condense in the container portion 1 while the other tend to separate from the hot water and enter pipe 18 to reach the inside of container portion 10 where, as a result of expansion and the lower temperature in said container portion they condense.

If the water level (contained in such a quantity in the plant as to constantly fill all of container portion 1 and a part of container portion 10 up to the level controlled by the float 28) lowers for instance, because of a leak, or for the fact that part of the water has turned into steam, the plant is fed, with the water from container portion 10 passing through pipe 29.

If the level of container portion 10 falls, the float 28 which floats for effect of this level, also falls, and water,

for instance fresh water, flows in through pipe 24 to again fill container portion 10. At the top, pipe 23 ensures that no pressure forms in container portion 10, while hole 22 prevents that a siphon effect may be produced, in the case of excess level, in container-portion 10 between pipe 18 and container 10.

In a central heating plant, a condenser such as that illustrated is mounted in each building. In the highest one, the float valve 25-28 is assembled as indicated above, while in the condensers placed in the lower buildings, pipe 24 is not connected to a water supply line but freely opens to the atmosphere. To prevent the water from running out when the level rises, the rod 26 is assembled with the float 28 hanging downward therefrom. It can easily be seen that valve 25 is closed by the float 28 when the level of the water rises. In such a plant no pipe 23 is provided and lid 20 for the condensers of the lower buildings is welded in position, while the said lid is merely supported in position in the condenser serving the tallest building at the highest position.

Pipe 23 is a safety discharge pipe, in the case of breakdown of the boiler or of the float valve. In such a case it discharges the excess steam or water to the outside.

Container portions 1 and 10 may be made separately.

I claim:

1. A condenser for separating vapors from flowing hot liquid and for condensing the vapors thus separated, including at least one container, at least one inlet pipe for the hot liquid, at least one outlet pipe for said liquid, both 4 of said inlet and outlet pipes communicating with said container wherein, according to the improvement, said container has a lower portion and an upper portion, at least one partition wall separating said lower portion from said upper portion, said partition wall having at least one pipe providing communication between said upper portion and said lower portion of the container, said inlet pipe and said outlet pipe opening into said lower portion of the container, said lower portion of the container including a plurality of mutually spaced deflector means arranged in such a manner between said inlet and said outlet pipes as to impart an alternately rising and descending, rotary flow to said liquid while flowing from said inlet pipe to said outlet pipe.

2. A condenser according to claim 1, wherein said one pipe providing communication between said upper and said lower portion of the container has one end at the top of said lower portion and extends up to near the top of said upper portion of the cointainer, and further comprising an additional, smaller pipe providing communication between said upper and said lower portion of the container, said smaller pipe opening with the upper end thereof into said upper portion near said partition wall and extending with the lower end thereof into said lower portion of the container near the bottom thereof.

3. A condenser according to claim 1, wherein said partition wall has insulating material cooperating therewith.

4. A steam condenser, according to claim 1, wherein said upper portion comprises further a fresh water supply pipe connection fitting and a float valve controlling the supply of fresh water therein.

5. A condenser according to claim 1, wherein said deflector means comprise a plurality of mutually spaced first and second substantially cylindrical walls having different diameters and at least one deflector plate arranged near the inlet pipe and extending transverse to said cylindrical walls, said first cylindrical wall having a diameter less than the diameter of said second cylindrical wall and being at least partially enclosed in the space surrounded by said second cylindrical wall, said first and said second cylindrical walls defining passage for the passage of said liquid at different levels thereby causing a rising and descending flow thereof.

6. A condenser according to claim 5 wherein, among said first and second cylindrical walls, the cylindrical wall defining the passage at the lower level has an additional passage for steam bubbles at the upper end thereof.

7. A condenser according to claim 5, wherein at least one of said substantially cylindrical walls are arranged offset with respect to the other of said cylindrical walls thereby to define a circular passage therebetween having a variable width.

REUBEN FRIEDMAN, Primary Examiner R. W. BURKS, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 

